Retrouvailles
by Be8
Summary: I am the shadow behind you, and you are the light in front of me. I really like Clefable and Gengar so I wrote a fic about them.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I know it's really annoying to have A/Ns at the beginning of a chapter but this is the only chapter where I'll be doing so. This is my first, long time project that I've had in years. I've just come back into writing after having huge writer's block, so this project may not be my best work. I also want to mention that this fic is based off of the Unova region, but I also want to stress that's not really the focus of the fic. IE: pokemon from other regions will be in this fic, there will be "uncharted" locations and settings that aren't on the map. This also takes place after the "game story", so no, say, hypothetical humans in this fic will be the main character of the game, nor any antagonist or minor character. This is all made up from my head. With that in mind, enjoy the story! I'm really enthusiastic about it!**

* * *

Tonight, the sky was clear. The large, beaming full moon hung high above the horizon. The lake below it hummed quietly with insects, and its soft ripples reflected the moon's light. The lake was surrounded by a clearing of soft, meadow-like grass that swayed gently in the breeze. Tall, looming trees circled around the area, occasionally flickering with light from fireflies who lived in them. There was nothing to disturb this night. Despite the beautiful scenery, no pokemon visited the lake with a full moon. Old legends and wild superstitions told all sorts of rumors about the spirits and shadows that liked to come to life when the moon reached its full cycle. To those creatures, a full moon was like the sun to others, and filled them with life and celebration. It was regarded as an omen of evil to the pokemon around the forest, so they kept away for the whole night, hoping to not run into them.

A few blades of grass quivered, barely touched by small, petite feet. A creature leapt gracefully out into the opening, not making a sound. The moonlight illuminated it; the distinct pink of a Clefable shone like a spotlight on an empty stage. The Clefable had its back turned to the lake, poising with its feet, perfectly still. It beckoned quietly with a digit, its face full of anticipation and excitement. Soon, more Clefable began to leap out from the trees, followed by younger pokemon, such as Clefairy and Cleffa, until a large mass of them gathered around the lake and admired the stars above them. They arranged like a ring around the lake, holding each others hands, and patterned their evolution so no one of the same stage was next to each other.

They all seemed to take it in the glow of the night for a moment, their bodies filling with energy unlike like any other night of the month. As if on cue, the pokemon started to slowly waltz with one another, circling the lake in a dreamy and sleepy pace. They hummed softly, like whispers, into the night sky. They hopped, danced, and glided under the moon. Gradually, the pace began to quicken, their cheers became louder-soon, the pokemon were practically bursting with vitality from the moon. The Clefable danced on the water, gentle enough not to break the surface. Clefairy and Cleffa hopped high into the air, singing and dancing with each other in a melodious tumult. They would dance and sing all night until the moon disappeared over the lake, before bounding back into their homes in the woods and waiting patiently for the next full moon.

However, while the mass of pokemon were celebrating under the moon, there was one pokemon who had been led astray. She was trapped deep in the woods, losing her way under the thick branches of the trees that covered up the moonlight. She could no longer hear the songs from her family. She continued to search frantically through the dark, calling out into the night. With each cry, the small Cleffa realized a little more that she was hopelessly lost.

Cleffa reached a low branch after running and hopping for what seemed like hours. Without the moon in sight, she had no idea where she was, or how to navigate. Her body, which should have been filled with energy, felt depleted as she slowly climbed to rest on the low branch, panting. Misty eyed, she cried out a few more times, getting quieter and quieter when no one responded. Today was supposed to be her first moon gathering. She had only hatched a few weeks ago, and she had never been out in the forest for this long-or had been away from anybody this long. Certain that she would never find her group again, she began to hiccup fearfully, wiping away tears.

* * *

Gastly narrowly dodged the Haunters' shadow balls, the wind from the attacks knocking him off balance a little bit as the spheres hit hard against the trees in front of him. He flew around the perimeter of the haunted house where he was born in, trying to shake off his attackers. However, the closer he was to the house, the angrier the Haunters became. A shadow ball slammed into the wood of the house, shattering the planks into splinters. Gastly was forced to make a beeline for the trees to get better distance from the Haunters. He was beginning to lose sight of the house as he switched between fleeing and fighting. Every once in a while he would approach them and use his poisonous tongue to paralyze them. So far, however, this proved to be minimal and ineffective. He knew he was out-matched to them, but he refused to back down, thinking he could eventually defeat them.

Despite being panicked, Gastly snickered at his enemies, lolling out his tongue and glaring at them. That almost cost him to be hit with another shadow ball, but he dodged just in the nick of time. He continued to fly into the forest, expertly swirling around each tree, trying to lose their trail.

"We'll kill you!" One of the Haunters shouted, firing shadow ball after shadow ball. Gastly could feel the trees shake around him. The farther he went, the more blood thirsty the Haunters became.

He didn't know how long the Haunters would chase him. Hopefully just out of the general area of the house so he could find his way back. But his stamina from running and dodging was being exhausted. Gastly thought he could hide in the trees, but all ghost pokemon could see perfectly well in pitch darkness. Gastly slipped into the thicket of the woods, his gassy composure letting him slip between the trunks as the haunters simply phased through them. However, the confusing pattern of the trees disoriented them just long enough for Gastly to hide inside an abandoned bird hole in a tree, trying to make sure his gas didn't leak out and give away his hiding spot.

"Where are you?" one of the Haunters spat, clearly furious and frustrated.

"Should we split up?" the other Haunter asked.

"No," the first one huffed, "the brat is probably hiding in some crevice around here. Look his gas slipping out somewhere."

The two pokemon searched around the trees, eyeing every corner and branch. Gastly had no real control over his body, and all he could do was wish his composure didn't slip out from the bird hole. The pressure from such a small space could spill out his gas. Every once in a while, he could feel the dreadful presence of one of the ghost pokemon, his form shivering from instinct. He hadn't been alive for very long, and he was still getting used to not reacting to the eerie and nightmarish nature of ghost pokemon.

"He probably ran away for good, the coward," one of the Haunters hissed.

"It's common for young pokemon like him," the other added, "to think he can trot around all he likes and start fights without consequences-but he's especially spineless."

Gastly could hardly stop himself from shooting out of the tree hole and showing them both was he was made of. He couldn't _stand_ be berated like that.

"Watch him come crawling back to us the next day," one of the Haunters almost chortled, "begging for forgiveness so he can roam around and act like the house is his."

The Haunters began to float away, muttering to themselves. Gastly, hot tempered and impatient, couldn't hide away from his enemies knowing that they thought he was cowardly. The more he reasoned with himself, the less sure he wanted to stay in his hiding spot. He peered out of the bird hole, and saw the Haunters in the distance. He flew full speed, colliding into one of the Haunters and licked his underbelly with his poisonous tongue, causing the Haunter to jerk in pain. Almost immediately, the second haunter blasted Gastly full force with a shadow ball, knocking him to the forest floor.

"Stupid kid!" The wounded Haunter recovered, ready to fire another shadow ball at him. "Learn your place!"

"Don't waste the energy," the other Haunter began to move out of Gastly's sight. "We went farther than we thought. He won't be finding his way back any time soon."

With one last glare, the other Haunter followed suit, leaving Gastly to writhe in pain. The shadow ball, surprisingly, didn't instantly knock him out or kill him. However, he could hardly focus his eyes on anything. He tried to get his body to levitate, but after several attempts he was unsuccessful. He waited on the ground for minutes, trying to re-orientate himself, before he finally felt his form rise up slowly into the sky. He carefully looked around, trying to get a sense of direction. He had no idea which direction he came from; his surroundings all looked the same. The Haunters were right-he wouldn't be able to make his way back to house.

* * *

Cleffa could feel chills crawling up her back as the night went on. She tried to rest on the branch she was sitting on, but every little sound, every little figure beyond the trees jolted her in alarm. She had cried until there were no tears left, and that all remained was fear and uncertainty. She thought that she could wait for dawn and find her way back home in the woods, but dawn was no where near breaking. Weak and unprepared as she was, she feared something would find her, and it would be all over.

Not being able to sit still any longer, Cleffa hopped off the branch and landed quietly on the soft forest floor. Her surroundings looked especially eerie. She couldn't shake the feeling that something else, someone else, was here with her, watching her. To shake off her paranoia, Cleffa chose a random direction and decided to clumsily step through the woods. She tried to cry out again, her voice hoarse from calling for hours. She sincerely wished for anything, any voice, to fill the silence of the forest.

Suddenly, as if a breeze had brought on a chill, Cleffa shivered involuntarily. She hadn't planned on it getting colder. If it continued like this, she'd have to make a fire, exposing herself to dangers even further. The sense of dread grew along with the dropping temperature, and she found herself looking wildly in each direction, almost expecting something to be there. She always felt something was behind her, waiting for her to turn around.

"Who's there?" she squeaked. She kept turning around over and over again, almost going in circles. Her fear spiked as her heart raced. She didn't know any strong physical moves, and could only defend herself with what little strengh she had. Which, to say the least, wasn't much.

"Your worst nightmare," replied a low, gargled voice, directly behind her. She felt a large, slobbery tongue lick up her backside, the saliva stinging her skin and tensing her muscles so they were paralyzed in place.

This time, Cleffa was able to whip around and face her stalker. She was filled with terror, about to scream, when her eyes focused on a small, impish Gastly, sticking its tongue out at her. Her fear was replaced with annoyance. "Owwwww!" she whined, puffing out her cheeks. "That hurt!"

The Gastly snickered obnoxiously, his tongue still lolling out as he bore his two fangs. Cleffa glared at him, rubbing her back to ease the muscles. After a few seconds, the Gastly slowly began to stop laughing. "Wait...You're not scared?"

"Not really," Cleffa replied grumpily, "why did you _do_ that?"

"Wh-" Gastly looked taken aback, almost offended. "Because I was trying to scare you!" He slid his tongue back in his mouth, an annoyed expression forming on his face as well. "You're in the thickest part of the woods! At _night!_ " Gastly rose slightly in the air so he could look down on Cleffa. "You're lucky _I'm_ the only thing you ran into!" he then looked away quickly, looking embarrassed at his last statement.

"I _know_ that," Cleffa whined. "It's not like I _wanted_ to come here all by myself." Cleffa could feel the fear coming back to her, as well as flashbacks to before this all happened. Being safe with her group, ready to dance under the moon and stars... Cleffa felt tears in her eyes as she rubbed her sore back, upset and afraid. Gastly gave her a kind of shocked and concerned look, like he didn't expect her to react this way.

"H...Hey. I mean, I'm sorry I gu-"

"And now I'm lost and away from my family," Cleffa sniffled, her voice cracking, "and I'll never find them by myself, and nothing looks familiar, and I'm small and weak and I don't know how to defend myself, and," she couldn't continue before bursting into tears. They stung her eyes, almost as bad as Gastly's lick stung her back. She tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. She felt the cold mist of Gastly's form approach her.

"Are you okay...? Are you gonna keep crying or-"

"Buzz off, jerk." Cleffa began to stomp away in a random direction, not like it mattered, before Gastly flew in front of her, his eyes wide and uncharacteristically serious.

"Wait! I-I'm lost too," Gastly blurted out. "I was chased by some pokemon out of my home. I have no idea where I am either," he looked away, sheepish. "I thought I could cheer myself up by scaring someone...But I couldn't even scare a little kid like you."

"Hey-" Cleffa started, ready to start crying again.

"I can't fight for myself, and I can't own up to the mistakes I make. I'm in the same boat you are, I promise." Gastly got closer to her, as if he thought she'd try to walk away. "I-I've got no where to buzz off to."

Cleffa stared at Gastly for a moment, as if analyzing his truthfulness.

"I'm sorry for licking you," Gastly said, "It's not very strong. Your back should be okay in a few minutes." He couldn't look at her, but Cleffa could tell he was being honest.

"You're...lost too?"

"At least until the sun rises and I can go back home without being murdered," Gastly answered sheepishly with a weak smile.

Cleffa tensed at those words. "W-What? Why would you want to go back to a place like that?"

"It's my home!" Gastly insisted, rising up into the air again. "It's where I was born. I can't just turn my back on it just because I got kicked out of it!" Gastly stared intently at Cleffa, who still had tears in her eyes. "And you can't abandon your family just because you're lost! Quit sniveling!"

Cleffa wiped at her eyes as Gastly sunk back down to her level. "But...I don't know how to get home. I can't see in the dark, not without the moon." Gastly looked at her with a puzzled look, like that was the most bizzare thing he had ever heard.

"Well," Gastly looked around for an answer, "we'll just...have to camp out here until the morning."

Cleffa heard his words, but her mind was elsewhere. "Do you think...any of them are looking for me. Or noticed that I'm even gone?" She tried to remember everyone's excitement as the sun set. Everyone told her how glad they would be to have to come along with them for the first time, how much fun she would have.

"You can't think like that," Gastly's tone was softer. "You can worry about that in the morning when you look for them."

Cleffa finally seemed to agree with his words, calming down and putting a small hand to her mouth. "Okay." After a moment of silence, "I guess I should start the fire, huh? You don't...look like you have any hands."

Gastly giggled at that.

* * *

The fire crackled softly and Cleffa watched the embers rise up into the sky.

It didn't occur to Cleffa that Gastly was almost entirely made up of non-alive substances, and that he didn't need a fire. He seemed to suck the warmth around him anyway, like he preferred to be cold rather than hot. It was interesting to watch the smoke swirl in with his purple, misty form. It didn't seem to bother him, or that he even noticed it. She wondered how much of his body he was conscious of.

"Fire is so...bright." Gastly squinted his eyes at the flames. He would approach it slowly, fluttering in front of it before jumping back whenever it crackled.

"You've never seen fire before?" Cleffa asked curiously. There were always little camp fires back at her home, or she had seen things catch fire due to storms and lightning. She knew that fire was extremely hot and dangerous, but from a distance, it was very comforting and nice to watch. She wondered if Gastly could even feel the heat from the fire.

"No. I've heard the ghosts at my house talk about it, though. How fire burned out part of the house. I wasn't born yet." Gastly kept staring at the fire. "It must've been so cool," he mused wistfully.

Cleffa still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when Gastly talked about his home. It didn't seem like anyone wanted him there, and she couldn't let him go back knowing he would be putting his life in danger. "Why did those pokemon even chase you out anyway?"

Gastly looked a little flustered, but rose up in the air to appear more confident. "They over reacted when I...found a part of their territory."

"Oh."

"And like, they started throwing insults and stuff. I couldn't just let them say those things about me, you know?!" Gastly seemed to be working himself up, floating up higher and higher...

"Wait," Cleffa stopped him, "does that mean you threw the first punch? Metaphorically?"

"Only because I was _forced_ to!" Gastly pleaded his innocence with a helpless look, "They were _insulting_ me, Cleffa! What would you have done?"

"To be honest, I probably would have just left them alone," Cleffa had to look up high to see Gastly now. "I'm not very strong."

"Well, _I_ am," Gastly said. "Believe me, I gave 'em what for before I-"

"Ran away," Cleffa giggled.

Gastly floated back down, looking like he was ready to retort sharply. When he couldn't think of anything, he touched the ground and sulked for a few moments.

After a few seconds of silence, Cleffa asked "If those pokemon chased you out of the house, does that mean you...kind of live alone? Isn't that...lonley?"

Gastly just grunted. "That's how it's always been, I guess."

"Well," Cleffa was staring at the fire, watching the wood and leaves burn at the base, before she looked back at Gastly "what if...You came along with me tomorrow? I'm sure you'd get along with everyone. They're very nice."

Gastly scoffed, looking at Cleffa like she had said something completely unrealistic. "I'm a ghost and poison type. I'm like, your opposite. You're some kind of...psychic type right?"

"Fairy."

"I'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"That doesn't matter! I'm sure with time everyone would accept you!"

"That's not what I meant," Gastly sighed. "We're completely different by nature. I wouldn't be able to adjust. I could never...learn to be more like you," he laughed at the thought. It was a different laugh, like he was adding a verbal period to a solid fact. "It's like asking you if you could live in my house with all of those hostile ghosts."

Cleffa took in his words carefully, disheartened. "But...it sounds so dangerous for you to go back."

"I can handle it," Gastly said nonchalantly, not looking at Cleffa. "As long as I stay away from those Haunters."

Cleffa fidgeted with her hands, pausing for a moment. "A single house seems kind of a small space between you two..."

That actually seemed to get into Gastly's head. He glanced at Cleffa before staring at the fire. "Yeah...I guess so."

Cleffa noticed that Gastly looked...bothered by something. She knew he didn't want to make a big deal out of the whole situation, but he didn't look like he was sure he could go back. He kept staring intensely at the fire, like he could drown out his worries by watching it slowly burn the wood to ashes.

"I know we don't know each other very well," Cleffa said, turning fully to Gastly, who seemed to be startled, as if he forgot she was there, "but can you make a promise to me?"

"What kind of promise?" Gastly inched a way a little bit, giving Cleffa a weird look.

"Can you promise me that you'll at least consider coming along with me in the morning? I think we could be really good friends." She smiled, feeling sure of herself for the first time that night. "Without you, I'd still be lost and scared."

"You're...still lost and scared, though," Gastly said.

"Yeah, but...I guess it's not as bad now," Cleffa blushed. "With you here I don't feel so alone."

It was difficult to tell, but Cleffa thought she could see the color of Gastly's smoke change in hue-into something more pinkish. "Oh." Gastly further floated away from Cleffa, his form fading into the darkness. "Sure. Okay."

"Thanks, Gastly," Cleffa smiled.

* * *

 **Leaving a review, fav, or follow would really help motivate me to finish this project! Constructive and helpful criticism is also welcome, as I'm slowly trying to relearn everything lol. Here's to chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning it rained. Hard. It was hard to see anything against the fog and the huge water droplets that splashed against Cleffa's face. Gastly stayed dry, tucked underneath some tree roots. His eyes were visible in the dark crevice, looking alarmed. Cleffa had never seen rain before, and deafening roar of it overwhelmed her sensitive ears. As much as the two wanted to travel, they had to stay put until the rain eventually stopped.

"Is there room in there?" Cleffa asked, turning to Gastly and eyeing his hiding place.

"I guess so," Gastly replied. "My form isn't consistent, so it's hard to tell."

Cleffa began to weasel her way under the roots, pawing for a damp, but mostly dry hole under the tree. It might have been the rain impairing her sense of smell, but she didn't sense any other pokemon that might have lived here before or currently. Gastly's fumes were noxious, and made her queasy, but she would have to adjust. He felt cold against her, shivering like he was frosty mist.

It didn't stop raining for a while-Cleffa would've guessed several hours. She had begun to get used to Gastly's odor, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. Gastly just hovered beside her, snoring. The rain, for some reason, brought an overwhelming aura of drowsiness to her.

She felt like she was going to close her eyes for the last time when she felt a trickle on her nose. As she wiped it away, opening her eyes, should could hear the faint trickle of more water spilling into the den. She quickly jolted upwards and realized the water was finally beginning to flood into their hole.

"Gastly, get up!"

Gastly didn't seem to respond at first, but the ghost pokemon slowly opened his eyes. Cleffa didn't have time to wait, climbing out of the hole and up the tree. From below, she could see streams of water flowing through the ground, and large puddles forming around dents in the ground, similar to their hiding spot. The tree was soaking wet, and cold, but it was slightly better than cold and wet dirt. She found a branch reasonably high off the ground, and sat up against the trunk, shivering. She scanned around for Gastly, before finally realizing he wasn't there.

She crawled forwards, into the rain, and balanced herself on the thinnest part of the branch, looking outwards. Was he still inside? Did he drown? Cleffa had no idea if Gastly _could_ drown. She began to panic, her heart racing. She couldn't lose her only partner in this forest, not so quickly.

"Gastly?!" she called out.

"I'm right here."

Cleffa squeaked and nearly fell off the branch, clawing back to the trunk and latching onto it. She saw Gastly to her right, looking a bit smaller.

"Some of the water swallowed up my gas," Gastly laughed, but it was awkward and stiff. "I...didn't make it out in time."

"Why? I woke you up, didn't I?" Cleffa studied Gastly, his black core beginning to spit out new purple gas, covering his form again slowly.

"Yeah, you did, but I didn't know why at first."

"What do you mean? Couldn't you tell the water was coming in?"

"...No." Gastly looked away awkwardly, like he was embarrassed about this fact. "I couldn't feel it. It wasn't until I saw it pouring in that I realized it was there."

Cleffa looked at him for a moment. Considering his element type, this fact should have come as common sense to her. Still, she felt sort of shocked. She felt tempted to stick her hand out and wave it through him, asking him if he felt it-but she decided that would be rude. "You didn't feel me next to you under the tree? At all?"

"Nope-that's another reason why I couldn't tell if there was enough room or not," Gastly stared down at the now flooded hole. "You would have to be taking up so much space I would feel the pressure of being squeezed, but that's about it." Gastly looked back at Cleffa for a moment, then made a face. "What?"

"Nothing," Cleffa replied quickly, "I just...didn't know I guess."

"Don't make it weird," Gastly brow furrowed. "It's not weird."

"N-no, I wasn't saying-" Cleffa felt her face heat up. She looked away to watch the rain drip off the leaves. "I'm sorry."

Gastly didn't acknowledge her. He stared at the view in front of them instead, glaring. The rain continued to patter, but softer.

"This sucks."

Cleffa didn't answer.

"I hate rain. I hate this. This _sucks_!" He was spitting his words into the wind, his teeth bared. "It's so _boring_ here!"

"There's nothing we can do," Cleffa nestled into the rough bark. "Just...try to get some more sleep."

Every once in a while, leaves would let some water drip down into her head. Cleffa tuned out Gastly obnoxious groaning as she slipped back into sleep.

* * *

A few days had passed as the duo waited for the forest to dry before they continued on their journey. Conforming to Cleffa's pace was incredibly frustrating and difficult for Gastly. He wanted to just fly up in the air and get a bird's eye veiw, but (what he thought was a horrible evolutionary flaw for most pokemon) Cleffa couldn't even levitate. She used much more of her energy walking and climbing. Every few hours Cleffa had to rest, despite her supposedly leading the way. The two seemed to go in random direction, Cleffa refusing to go into most places that were "creepy" or "dangerous".

Finally, they were able to get somewhere because Cleffa recognized the area around her. She told him that it would be a few hours until they reached her camp. Gastly mentally sighed in relief. He wasn't desperate to get Cleffa away from him or anything like that, but he was tired of wandering through the forest like it was some frustrating puzzle.

But, when they reached the campsite...

All Gastly could do was watch Cleffa as she checked each den. The area around them was caked with mud. Cleffa's underside and feet were turning brown with it. Her hands were smeared with it, too. She just wiped it on her sides. Trees had been knocked over, holes were filled in with water, debris lay everywhere; it was uninhabitable.

"They're all gone," Cleffa said simply. Gastly couldn't read her expression. It seemed sorrowful, but she wasn't crying, like she usually did at this point. "The place must have flooded really bad when it rained."

"Did they just...migrate?" Gastly asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Cleffa went silent after that, just standing there. Gastly felt incredibly uncomfortable.

He watched her as she continued to re-check some of the dens, as if her family would magically appear in one of them-as if she had overlooked something. She repeated this process for several minutes, both of them silent, until she sat in the center, looking strangely exhausted.

Gastly slowly floated over to her. He appeared in front of Cleffa, making sure that she could see him and that he didn't scare her again. "Are...you okay?"

Cleffa had her face in her hands, trembling slightly. He knew she was about to cry.

"Don't cry, Cleffa," he tried to say with concern, but he was mostly bored from her constant weeping. "Come on. It isn't all bad. We can still find them."

"No we can't," Cleffa said through tears, curling herself away from him.

"Sure we can. We can follow their tracks or something-"

"I don't know what that would even look like." Her voice began to tremble with emotion. "Besides, the rain washed away everything. Their footprints. Their scent." Cleffa began to hiccup, and Gastly knew it was the point of no return. Still, he persisted.

"Well... Well, we can't just not try. You want to see them again, right?"

Cleffa nodded, hardly noticeable.

"So... let's go. There's still lots of night-light."

Cleffa didn't budge, and she was still crying. She finally showed her face, but she stared at the ground, eyes watery and face contorted.

"Cleffa, come on," Gastly groaned.

"It's not worth it," she whimpered.

"What do you _mean_ it's not worth it?"

"Gastly," Cleffa finally looked at him, looking surprisingly angry. "Why can't you learn to just... _drop_ something?"

"But it's your family!" Gastly locked eyes with Cleffa. "You made such a big deal out of finding them, why are you stopping now? Don't you care about them?"

"O-Of course I do!" Cleffa said, her voice choking up again. "But it's... it's _dangerous_ , and we could-"

"We won't," Gastly rolled his eyes. "We'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves."

"No we can't!" Cleffa's voice broke from her volume, "We're hardly past level one, at best, and we both only know a fraction of this forest! How are we supposed to do anything?!"

Her words fell heavy on Gastly somewhere, but he wasn't quite sure where. It made him squirm. "Shut up!" he hissed, "You don't know what you're talking about! You _never_ know what you're talking about!"

The words began to spill, and he couldn't stop. All he could think about was how frustrating the past few days have been. Going in circles and circles just to appease Cleffa's fears.

"You've been coddled since you were born! I came out of my egg fighting for my life! Ever since we've been together, I've been the only one who's done any real progress to find your family. I know what I'm capable of, and I can beat anything and anyone in this forest! You're just-" He held his mouth shut with anger, before finally bursting. "You're just some cowardly baby!"

Cleffa lashed out at him, using something like her Pound attack, but it phased right through him. Her face turned red from holding back her sobs, and she pitifully toddled away from him, sitting next to a nearby tree. He knew she didn't have it in her to run, or yell back, or even fight back. She was weeping silently, curling back up into a ball. Her reaction proved Gastly's point. She didn't have the initiative to do anything herself.

But at the same time, Gastly realized suddenly that they were friends-or at least, that's what Cleffa referred to him as. How could he _expect_ her to argue back?

He had to wait until she got over her crying spell so they could leave-which could be hours. Always waiting, wasting time. He hated it. For the whole period, he had to sit and think about what he'd done-how guilty it made him. He hated it.

* * *

Eventually, they both adjusted.

The first week was the hardest. When the two of them interacted, it was full of frustration and misunderstanding. They knew little about each other, and they knew even less how to survive on their own. But despite their bickers, they promised to stick together. As the days rolled on, they became the only other person in the world to each other.

Pinwheel Forest was always soggy. They were always jumping from shelter to shelter, desperately trying to stay warm and dry to last through the day. Gastly didn't need these things as badly as Cleffa, but he always agreed to move if she felt uncomfortable. Soon enough, the two of them found another crevice, similar to the one they found during the rainstorm, and blocked it off with rocks whenever it rained. It was much more spacious than the last, and it had plenty of room to separate both of them. Cleffa soon was able to ignore Gastly's rancid scent, and accepted it as normal.

Gastly didn't try to find his house again. Following Cleffa's logic for her ruined home, it was almost certainly destroyed. And even if he went back, there would be no warm welcome. At least with Cleffa, Gaslty was able to feel like he belonged somewhere.

Cleffa was soft and fragile, and Gastly never got the impression she could hurt him. Yet, what struck him as more interesting about her is that she wouldn't hurt him. Or do anything else malignant, for that matter. When she wasn't crying, she was hopping around and communicating everything around her. She was attuned to the wind and weather,which was very helpful for storms, and he always found her listening sounds in the night as the stars fluttered in the sky each night. She forgave and forgot in what seemed in a kind of habit, and she never held a grudge on Gastly, or looked at him coldly. Something deep inside Gastly's nature had wanted to take advantage of this-this unending kindness and tenderness, many times. But for some reason, she made him feel like he couldn't even if he wanted to.

Cleffa had felt weary around Gastly for a long time. She tried to always make an air of relaxation and peace, but Gastly always seemed more interested in his own ideals and getting things done his way. And she had to admit, he was far more skilled than her at many things. But the way he did things, or the thing he said, were often cold-hearted. During the night, all he really did was stand guard. He was young and weak compared to others, but appeared strong in whatever he was doing-something Cleffa could never pull off. Sometimes she was sure he didn't like her, and that he was just sticking around so he wouldn't be alone in the forest. But, even when he was about to do something horribly rash, he had her in mind to come along with him and be part of the experience. And whenever she came along, she was always able to bring part of him back down to earth (literally and metaphorically).

Cleffa loved her family, even in the short time she knew them. They were calm and sweet, but she had lost sight of them. She never saw them look for her, or wonder where she went. But she never lost sight of Gastly, who stood beside her, undeniably sure of everything he did. He wasn't what she was used to or what she expected, but he was there-and she didn't feel so lost.

* * *

Cleffa woke up early. The sun had just set, and the sky was still tinted with oranges and purples. Gastly was still sleeping under the roots behind her, and she had to refrain herself from waking him up as well. She had been counting the days, watching the moon through the clearing and analyzing its cycle. She could feel it deep inside of her-the full moon was, _finally_ , tonight.

She wasn't really sure how to prepare. She remembered her family getting ready a month ago, congregating around the center of her little village, socializing and chatting away. Some clefairy had brought their moon stones, for they were planning to evolve that night. She remembered the clefable that taught all the little cleffa, including herself, how to jump high in the air and land as if they were feathers being blown by the wind. She didn't remember anything about that now, but she supposed it didn't matter. There was no group to practice with anymore. Just Gastly, maybe. If she could persuade him to join.

Looking down into the roots, Cleffa could see Gastly's form, little strings of his smoke wavering off in the breeze, and reforming from his black core. She tensed a little in nervousness. She had been waiting to show Gastly something like this, but how would she go about it? How was she supposed to go about it?

As the sky darkened, Cleffa could see more and more of the moon. She paced around their new home, standing around to get the best view of it. The more clear it became, the more excited Cleffa felt.

Gastly had woken up now, floating down to the ground and yawning. Cleffa noticed him and skittered towards him. "Gastly," Cleffa could hardly stop her voice from shaking in excitement, "there's something I want to show you."

"Can it wait?" Gastly let out another huge yawn, his expandable form allowing his mouth to become so large it matched Cleffa in height. "I just got up."

"Sure," Cleffa said. "It's not the right time right now, but I want you to at least look at it."

"Okay," Gastly sighed, slowly following the ecstatic Cleffa, who was bouncing and skipping into the clearing. The grass reflected a cool blue as the moon began to settle its place in the highest point of the sky. The stars were now visible, twinkling and bright.

Cleffa paced around a bit until she found the spot she liked, and gestured to Gastly to stand next to her. "Look up," she whispered excitedly. She watched Gastly slowly tilt up his body so he could see the brilliant scene.

His eyes widened with wonder, and his mouth was closed, appearing like there was no mouth at all. "Cool moon," he commented.

"I," Cleffa started, then wrung her hands for a moment. "I wanted to show you what I never got to do a month ago," she started to prance in place, her body not being able to control the life that filled into her. "What I was supposed to do with my family at the last full moon. Can't you feel it? It feels like," she searched for words, caught in the moment, "like the sun is shining. _Really_ shining. For the first time in weeks."

She finally looked back at Gastly, who didn't seem to be nearly as thrilled as she was. Still, he was intrigued, watching Cleffa carefully. "What do you do on a full moon, then?" he asked slowly.

"I-...I don't know! Not really," Cleffa began to swirl around, moving around the clearing. "You dance! You celebrate! You cherish the night. It's so beautiful-you really can't feel it?"

"I feel...something," Gastly said, looking thoughtful. He looked back up at the moon. "For ghost pokemon, the moon means something a little different, I guess. Like... monsters and curses."

"But it still means something to you," Cleffa continued to dance around the clearing, "it's important to you, right? Can't you feel something just...bursting inside of you?"

"Well, I'm definitely awake now," Gastly said. Cleffa noticed how Gastly was watching her dance, looking mystified by every move she made, as if he had never seen her like this before. Maybe he hasn't-she can't remember the last time she felt like this. Or if she had ever felt like this before.

"Come on," she hopped towards Gastly, "dance with me! It's so much fun!" She was giggling through her words, unable to stand in place.

"I'm not sure I can dance," Gastly protested, but he slowly followed Celffa anyway, glancing at the moon every once in a while.

"There's no right or wrong way to dance. Just do whatever you feel like doing." Cleffa danced around him, and he had to circle around her to keep eye contact.

"Hey!" Gastly was getting dizzy from spinning, "Hold still!" He was stern at first, but his demands turned into laughs and snickers. They circled around each other, finding a rhythm and began to swirl together under the moon, laughing and cheering.

"Look what I can do!" Cleffa summoned some leaves from her Magical Leaf attack and sent the glowing leaves soaring up into the air before they burst into sparkles, trickling down on the two of them.

He sneezed when one of the sparkles landed on his nose. "Psshh. You fairy pokemon and your pretty stuff," Gaslty sounded unimpressed, but he didn't take his eyes away from the show.

Cleffa found herself showered in her own sparkles. She shook them off, little specks flying everywhere. She continued to dance, singing a little bit too, as Gastly flew around her.

She didn't really expect the night to be like this. As excited as she was for it to happen, she always thought of it as some kind of coordinated ritual, and that it would just come to her naturally. And for all she knew, she could be doing the whole thing wrong, if there was a way to do it wrong. She knew she didn't have a large family anymore, and she didn't have any guidance on what she was supposed to do. Everything after she found Gastly was her learning how to find her own, unique way to solve her problems. But finally being able to celebrate under a full moon, no matter how she did it, felt amazing. It felt _right_.

Suddenly, Cleffa stopped dancing, leaving Gastly to twirl around a bit before stopping too. "Cleffa?" he asked. She didn't move. She felt like something inside her was about to burst. It wasn't the energy from the moon, but something different. Something... bigger.

Her form was coated in a bright, white light. She couldn't move, she couldn't see, and her entire body was prickling with power. She felt her form transform into something new. Halfway, she finally realized, _'I'm evolving.'_

When her vision came to, the first thing she saw was Gastly's awed expression. His eyes were huge, almost swallowing up half of his face. He kept looking at her, up and down, but didn't say a word. She looked at her hands. They were bigger, and her fingers were extended by claws. She was a Clefairy now. They both looked at each other in pure shock.

"How did-" Gastly started, but couldn't finish. "I-I could've sworn I was a higher level than you," his tone got increasingly more high pitched. "You evolved? You really evolved! How?"

"I don't know," Clefairy's voice felt deeper. "I just. I just felt so content and happy, and I kept feeling something inside me like it was going to burst, and-"

"Look at you!" Gastly exclaimed. He was excited now, circling his friend. "You look...! So different!"

Clefairy laughed nervously, looking down at her body. She felt a small pair of wings on her back. She tried to flutter them, but they seemed useless for now. Her ears were up higher, and more pointy, and it felt like she could hear things she would have never picked up otherwise. The slight woosh of Gastly's flying was clearly audible now. "Is it okay?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah! You're so much...bigger! So much tougher looking," Gastly was at her side now. He looked like he wanted to say something else. "It fits you," Gastly finished, but looked like he wanted to say something else. "You look..."

"What? What do I look like?" she asked, curious.

"You look pretty."

" _Pretty!_ " she barked, bursting into a fit of nervous and flattered giggles, her face heating up. "Did you really just say that!?"

"What?!" Gastly erupted into a pinker shade, immediately ascending into the sky. He didn't seem to have any control over it. "I-i-it's just!-" Gastly kept getting more worked up the more Clefairy laughed, "I-I meant aesthetically speaking! You know, l-like, conventionally! S-scientifically...?" He stopped himself again, looking mortified. "It's normal! Whatever!"

Gastly kept tripping over himself as Clefairy laughed, her blush slowly fading away. She still felt the pull of the moon, and the urge to dance, but it was calmer now, more like an instinct than an uncontrollable feeling. It settled at the pit of her chest. "I know, I get it," Clefairy said after Gastly had calmed down a bit.

"Okay," Gastly grumbled, his shade turning back to purple. He began to sink again. "I better evolve soon. Like I said, you're...bigger."

It was sort of comical to see how much smaller Gastly had become. Before he almost enveloped her with his gas and smoke. But now, he only reached up to about half her height. She had to look down on him.

The two stood there for a moment, taking in the night. After a beat of silence Gastly spoke. "Do you...wanna keep dancing?"

Clefairy thought he'd never ask.

* * *

 **So sorry for the late update! I was feeling under the weather for a few days, and my schedule at the time was changing. Also, I've looked at this chapter for so long I just don't like it anymore, so it hurt my motivation to finish it a little bit. I'm sorry for the weird pacing, and if you feel like things are going too fast right now-there's a reason for that, I promise.**

 **Also: How can Gastly use lick on Cleffa but when Cleffa uses Pound it doesn't affect Gastly...no inconsistencies here...**

 **Leaving a review, fav or follow helps my ego lol and helpful, constructive criticism (though I'm sore about this chapter anyway) is welcome!**


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